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20th out of 575 books
—
742 voters
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
by
Susan Faludi
Skillfully Probing the Attack on Women’s Rights
“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is...more
“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
August 15th 2006
by Broadway
(first published 1991)
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This book is worth reading not just to remind us that ‘the women's question’ has not been solved – and it is always timely to be reminded of that – but also because it shows how we are manipulated by the media in a way that is rare in any book. It is an utterly depressing read. I read this at about the time that I stopped watching American films – I have seen only really a handful of them since. Her description of Fatal Attraction ought to be made compulsory reading. Actually, the whole book sho...more
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I'm giving it 3 stars to put it in the middle. If this was the early/mid 90s then it would have had 5 stars. It was a book that came along just as I was figuring out my place in the world - as a woman. It tapped into things I was thinking and I think helped shape some of my views. Now at age 40 I'd like to read it again to see if it still applies.
Oct 11, 2007
SuperCat
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
folks who believe in "postfeminism"
Faludi takes on the 80s, decade of big hair, bad music, and, she claims, a new kind of backlash against feminism. Her thesis is that pop-culture of the 80s told women they had been liberated by the women's movement of the last decade, but were now suffering because of the very gains made by women's lib. She quips: it must be all that equality that's causing all that pain--But what equality?
Faludi's book has two main goals then, to bust the backlash myth that feminism is responsible for women's u...more
Faludi's book has two main goals then, to bust the backlash myth that feminism is responsible for women's u...more
Faludi takes us from the retro-reactionary scriptwriters in Hollywood (mostly men!) to the misogynistic floors of factories during the 1980s, ten years after the feminist revolution, to show how truly anti-women American institutions had become, under the auspices that all of feminism's goals have been achieved. One of the biggest strengths of this book is Faludi's emphasis not only on the words of the people she interviews but their actions. As she interviews women like Faith Popcorn and Tony G...more
So I just read Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, by Susan Faludi. I had this book on my list because I considered it required reading for anyone who wants to understand the current landscape of women’s rights; when the book was published in 1991, it was hailed as a feminist mythbuster, a possible catalyst for change. And indeed it should have been—this book demonstrates the ways in which culture (news and entertainment media, fashion, politics, and popular psychology) has push...more
I'm pretty biased to Faludi, so I can't review this book objectively. I enjoy her style, which is semi-academic, and I like the way she pulls up seemingly unrelated puzzle pieces from under the sofa, the shelf, the dog's slobbery mouth and creates a jigsaw that makes the reader go, "Duh, now I get the big picture."
Faludi's classic focuses on the late 70s and early 80s United States, to a time when women's rights were supposedly set. Roe vs. Wade came about, women were entering the work force mor...more
Faludi's classic focuses on the late 70s and early 80s United States, to a time when women's rights were supposedly set. Roe vs. Wade came about, women were entering the work force mor...more
Since I'm in the process of making my way through the feminist cannon, I couldn't skip over this book. After reading it, I went back and re-read Amanda Marcotte's post on it in which she pointed out that this book is mostly about the reactionary 1980s even though it came out in 1991. Now, more than 20 years later, some of the things Faludi talks about remain so relevant.
Marcotte writes, "I do know that feminist blogging as we know it owes more to this book than anything." And it's certainly tru...more
Marcotte writes, "I do know that feminist blogging as we know it owes more to this book than anything." And it's certainly tru...more
I should note that I read the 1992 original version of this book. I'd love to read the updated version. At any rate, I went into this book open minded but by no means sold on her thesis. I came out the other end totally convinced. This is a solid work of well-written, well-researched scholarship that drives home her undeniable theses that career women are not "suffering" for their pursuits and that there is a determined effort to create a public perception of how "dangerous" feminism has been fo...more
I read the updated, international version. It took me several months to plough through this tome, if only because it annoyed me so much. I could only take it in small doses without becoming utterly dismayed at the society which it so accurately describes. Unfortunately it still seems as relevant today as when it was first published in the 80s.
I was tempted to skip the epilogue after reading about the factory workers whose choice was to either get themselves sterilised or lose their jobs, but I'...more
I was tempted to skip the epilogue after reading about the factory workers whose choice was to either get themselves sterilised or lose their jobs, but I'...more
Jan 09, 2008
andrea
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Open-minded people of both sexes who truly believe in equality.
Susan Faludi is an amazing investigative journalist. This is an exhaustive study of American attitudes toward feminism throughout history. I will go as far as to say that this is a book every liberal-minded girl and feminist-friendly (or even feminist-unfriendly) male should read. Backlash is a book that reaffirms history's cyclical, repetitive nature.
Backlash, a.k.a. el libro que Bridget Jones intentó hacer creer a Mark Darcy que había leído, es un ladrillo de 500 páginas lleno de datos, datos, datos y quejas justificadas: principalmente sobre cómo los medios de comunicación crean debates ficticios sobre temas "candentes" que no existían como tales hasta que aparecen impresos (cuidado con la sociología pop). También, porque no lo he leído linealmente sino que lo he ido abriendo un poco al azar durante este año: sobre cómo la industria de la...more
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The women’s movement has had a long and controversial history, and opinions about it over the last century are varied. In the late 70’s, popular culture was applauding women for achieving equality, even stating that the Equal Rights Amendment was no longer needed. Women, they said, had it all. But did they? Media, academics, and others started asking, if women are liberated then why are they so miserable? Politicians, media, and popular culture soon decided that liberation itself was causing the...more
This is a must read - a brilliant and upsetting account of feminism. It explores the subtle (and not so subtle) subversion that women faced in the 1980s and early 90s as a backlash to the feminist movement of the 1970s. the statistics and stories Faludi presents are frightening. While I would love to see a follow up edition with current statistics as those presented her are over 20 years old, I would be surprised if things had changed for the better as one might have hoped. I am upset to find th...more
Very true. Helped me understand the subtle and increasing convert manner in which the American male still chooses to dominate as an alternative to co-operate with the female gender. I'm convinced that my children's generation will be the 1st to have the more enlightened male. My generation are not very capable of making the transition without a major emotional paradym shift.
Good book to help younger women understand the environment suffered by their older female generation and the value of conti...more
Good book to help younger women understand the environment suffered by their older female generation and the value of conti...more
Mar 22, 2010
itpdx
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
lwv-book-group,
non-fiction
This is a feminist exposition of the backlash to women's advances of the 60's and 70's that has a lot of applicability to today. Again the job losses in the current recession have hit more men than women. (The industries with the biggest job losses-construction, investment banking and manufacturing are still very much male-dominated). So based on Faludi's reasoning we may be in for more backlash.
It explains why most of the prominent anti-abortion proponents are men. Evidently they feel threaten...more
It explains why most of the prominent anti-abortion proponents are men. Evidently they feel threaten...more
This is a demanding read, even if it is wonderfully written.
Faludi crafts her scenes expertly, with anecdotes supporting her claims about the forces working against American women.
Everything from media to a gangbuster of gendered self-help products are indicted in this war. Women are born into a world that needs them to be soft, submissive and marriage-and-family focused. Faludi builds her nonfiction book to a climax: Beverly LaHaye, the queen of the ultra-conservative Concerned Women for Amer...more
Faludi crafts her scenes expertly, with anecdotes supporting her claims about the forces working against American women.
Everything from media to a gangbuster of gendered self-help products are indicted in this war. Women are born into a world that needs them to be soft, submissive and marriage-and-family focused. Faludi builds her nonfiction book to a climax: Beverly LaHaye, the queen of the ultra-conservative Concerned Women for Amer...more
This is a very informative and interesting book on the backlash to the feminist movement. The author published this in 1991 but I think a great deal of what she talks about is similar today. She focuses on the 80s primarily and a lot of it suprised me. I didn't realize how pervasive the backlash was and how the media willingly took part in it. The book does get a little tedious to read just because of the enormous amount of research the author did and the amount of studies she cites/uses. But I...more
I read this because it was on this list I'm working through of classic feminist literature. It was interesting and full of evidence, but honestly it seemed like several books squooshed together and I had a really hard time locating the thesis. I don't think she really ever pointed to who exactly was driving the backlash against feminism besides some nebulous idea of "men." Maybe Reagan? Maybe business? Maybe the media? Maybe evangelical Christians? It's not clear. I realize that all of those thi...more
So incredibly readable. I love the analysis she provides of tv and film. This is definitely a feminist text to be reckoned with. It is most definitely lengthy, but I think each chapter can be read on its own and in no particular order.
Having been raised by a radical feminist mother, "Backlash" (along side Andrea Dworkin's "Woman Hating") gave me an insight into my Mother's frustration growing up. It stands as the most introspective book on feminism since "Against Our Will".
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been written about this truly ground-breaking text. Faludi skewers the anti-feminist culture and hegemony that dominates American society in every facet, from films to fashion to blue collar discrimination. I devoured the book over the course of a week or two, truly enjoying every single chapter, contorting my face at the horrors experienced by women during the Reagan years. My only complaint? In a few of the chapters, Faludi tends to skew more towa...more
LJ user pachakuti:
Yes, this is a little dated in some of its subject matter, but a compelling, well-written, incredibly well researched piece of literature about the 'backlash' against feminism. The book mainly deals with the backlash during the 80's against the 70's feminist revolutions, but reading through it makes you much more aware of how this backlash exists today, in a very real way, and how the 'backlash' shapes so much of popular culture and the behavior of the media.
Yes, this is a little dated in some of its subject matter, but a compelling, well-written, incredibly well researched piece of literature about the 'backlash' against feminism. The book mainly deals with the backlash during the 80's against the 70's feminist revolutions, but reading through it makes you much more aware of how this backlash exists today, in a very real way, and how the 'backlash' shapes so much of popular culture and the behavior of the media.
Would rate four and a half stars. There's a reason this book coined a new phrase: well-written, hard-hitting and deeply researched, I couldn't put it down.
It may be a bit dated now (all the data comes from the time period, largely the 80's), but the book fully addresses the myths of femininity which any woman would recognize; that fulfillment is found in relationships and child-rearing; that the "biological clock" can't be denied; that working women are always miserable and we "can't have it al...more
It may be a bit dated now (all the data comes from the time period, largely the 80's), but the book fully addresses the myths of femininity which any woman would recognize; that fulfillment is found in relationships and child-rearing; that the "biological clock" can't be denied; that working women are always miserable and we "can't have it al...more
Faludi documents the 1980s backlash against American women's social and political gains in the 1970s. A ridiculously well-researched book (hence it's length?), Faludi describes the difficulties American women still face when trying to advance or maintain their sociopolitical rights.
I remember hearing that, as Faludi criticized others' use of statistics to prove their points, she, too, was accused of using statistics inappropriately. I don't know the sections to which that criticism refers or if...more
I remember hearing that, as Faludi criticized others' use of statistics to prove their points, she, too, was accused of using statistics inappropriately. I don't know the sections to which that criticism refers or if...more
Skillfully Probing the Attack on Women’s Rights
“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is back in a fifteenth anniversary edition, with a new preface by the author that brings backlash consciousness up to date.
When...more
“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is back in a fifteenth anniversary edition, with a new preface by the author that brings backlash consciousness up to date.
When...more
This is an excellent book, a Feminine Mystique for the 1980s. Faludi discusses every aspect of American culture - movies, music, television, fashion, makeup, employment, politics, reproductive rights - and calculatingly tears apart the detractors of feminism, revealing the subtle and covert war waged against women in the 1980s.
Despite this book's being twenty years old, I found it very pertinent to today's world. The past decade has certainly been a time of backlash, ranging from the heavily sex...more
Despite this book's being twenty years old, I found it very pertinent to today's world. The past decade has certainly been a time of backlash, ranging from the heavily sex...more
My favorite thing about Susan Faludi is the strength and accuracy of her BS-o-meter. My next favorite thing is her brilliant writing. The sad thing to realize after reading this 20-year-old book is that she could write the same book -- with all new but similar material -- today.
*sigh*
Faludi laid the groundwork for many authors who followed. Twenty years ago, she wrote " ... women in the '70s who were assertive and persistent discovered that they could begin to change men's views. By vigorously c...more
*sigh*
Faludi laid the groundwork for many authors who followed. Twenty years ago, she wrote " ... women in the '70s who were assertive and persistent discovered that they could begin to change men's views. By vigorously c...more
Aug 09, 2010
Sarah
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
burgeoning feminists, or anyone who simply enjoys being pissed off
Shelves:
2010
In "Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women," Susan Faludi asserts that each wave of significant advances in women’s rights has been met with a societal backlash, and then spends 400+ pages exhaustively outlining examples of just such a backlash. Case studies range from examples within the media, to politics, to the private sector, to academia. No part of American culture is left unexamined. While it can grow numbingly repetitive after awhile, the examples she gives are no less infur...more
Many people believe that men are the more superior gender; women are dependent on men, they depend on their husbands to earn money and to help support the family. However if you are a feminist, this is a perfect book for you! Backlash, challenges this idea of whether women are really dependent on men; and also questions how independent a woman can be. Does a woman really need to be married in order to survive? How powerful is a woman? Moreover, Backlash juxtaposes the different types of women ou...more
An excellent analysis of the reacion against feminism in the United States. She gives many specific examples that support her argument that media and popular culture were used to undermine important elements of equality fro woman. it is well researched and well written.
I only give it four stars because I don't think she looked fully enough at the ways feminism has been misunderstood and abused feminists who were reacting against oppression and distorted valuable elements in ways that could be ef...more
I only give it four stars because I don't think she looked fully enough at the ways feminism has been misunderstood and abused feminists who were reacting against oppression and distorted valuable elements in ways that could be ef...more
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“The "feminine" woman is forever static and childlike. She is like the ballerina in an old-fashioned music box, her unchanging features tiny and girlish, her voice tinkly, her body stuck on a pin, rotating in a spiral that will never grow.”
—
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